Corsair Scimitar RGB Optical MOBA/MMO Gaming Mouse Review and Ratings

Editors’ Rating:

Our Verdict:
This Scimitar has two sharp points: Corsair's very good software, and some solid ergonomic details. But as in any MMO mouse, its side buttons are tightly packed, perhaps not to everyone's liking. Read More…

Companies will eagerly put forward their own visions for ordinary mice, be they ambidextrous, vertically oriented, horizontal, in any number of shapes. Some are so bizarre, they would have led Victor Frankenstein to sublet his lab and take an entry-level position in fast-food services. But the design of mice for multiplayer games is driven by one main thing: a need to store a lot of user-designed commands for easy, quick retrieval. (And to be honest, that's not a bad idea for some complex single-player games, too: real-time and turn-based strategy titles can benefit from it.)

That dictates a slightly bulging appearance to accommodate plenty of macro buttons and their electronics, plus as ergonomic a build as possible. And ergonomics do matter, because multiplayer games often suck people in for an unhealthy amount of time in any given session. Not for nothing, after all, was Everquest dubbed “Evercrack” right after its release 17 years ago, and today’s DOTA and League of Legends cast similar spells that destroy time and limbs. Wrist and arm tension is a real issue with MMO mice that you'll discover when you emerge from that multiplayer trance.

The Corsair Scimitar fits the MMO-mouse profile perfectly. Here it is from an angle, giving a good perspective…

A few points immediately stand out. First, there's the bulge we referred to in the wrist area. Where other mice rise to the second finger joints, MMO mice usually crest around the knuckles above the palm, then start sloping down. This accommodates the greater height (and internal bulk) necessary for all those side buttons and their electronics. At 4.7 inches long by 3.1 inches wide, and 1.9 inches high at its peak, the Scimitar is a big mouse, much as you'd expect. And at 5.2 ounces without counting the USB cord, it's also quite heavy. The Scimitar is unlikely to skitter out of your control as you bang out a series of macros during gameplay, but it's not exactly built for a small hand or fast movement.

While we like the sleek visuals and feel of the matte-black rubber coat over this mouse's plastic exterior, the silver buttons caused a friend of ours to say, at first glance, "Uh, call home." Admittedly he's evil, but he has a good point: The buttons' size, shape and color resemble those of an old land-line phone. And when you combine the black body, silver side buttons, and lemon-yellow plastic casing, it all clashes—even more so after factoring in the four RGB color lighting zones. (We'll get into how to reset 'em under Features.) On a continuum based solely on appearance, we rate the Scimitar definitely below the clean black styling of both the Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse and the Razer Naga, but above the Giger-like horror of the Mad Catz Cyborg MMO 7 Gaming Mouse.

One other point about that image. Notice the light shining back at the side buttons? It's always on and beyond your control, changing to match the color associated with one of the five DPI settings you can store in CUE, the Corsair Utility Engine software. It's significantly brighter than it appears here, isn't covered by your hand, and could prove potentially distracting while gaming.

Let's take a look at the Scimitar from above…

It offers a modified oval shape, with the mouse wheel placed in front of a pair of DPI-raise and -lower buttons. The left and right mouse buttons resemble claws copied from some Japanese mecha epic, as they do in so many other gaming mice these days, but they look far better manicured than those of, say, the Logitech G602 Wireless.

Here’s a front view of the Scimitar…

Given that the mouse is for right-handed users and will be placed on the right side of your keyboard, we're at a loss to understand why its USB cord is attached at the left front. This means there's more of a pull across the entire front of the Scimitar. (It's admittedly a minor point, because the cord is flexible enough that the pull isn't great.) We like the braided fiber covering the cord, its length of 71 inches, and its Velcro tieback as well, but we do wish it wasn't hard-wired into the Scimitar. If it's damaged much, you can't simply buy another cord, but need to buy yourself a whole new mouse.

Switching our view to the back of the mouse gives an indication of how seriously Corsair has taken customizing the Scimitar's shape to fit the human hand…

When cupped, our hands arch naturally not just along a vertical plane, but along a horizontal one, as well. They crest under the index finger's knuckle closest to the wrist. We've seen a few recent right-handed mouse designs that take this into account, such as the Corsair 550M Gaming Mouse, and feel it's one of the better design points for a horizontal mouse used in long-session gaming. (Of course, common sense still dictates that if you're really interested in preserving your hands long-term, you need to take regular breaks, mouse regardless.)

Let's go to the left side of the Scimitar next and look a bit more closely at its buttons for a subtle but interesting feature…

One of the complaints we sometimes see about MMO mice is that all those side-panel buttons are difficult for our thumbs to tell apart. (You get 12 on the Scimitar, with the two DPI raise/lower buttons, the mouse-wheel click, and the left and right mouse buttons making for a total of 17 buttons in all.) And there's a great deal of truth to those quibbles, since wedging so many buttons into a small, tight space becomes a real issue when you have to pinpoint one on the fly. One solution Corsair has implemented is roughing up the texture of the second and fourth columns of button. This doesn't solve the problems related to the buttons' size and proximity to one another, but in our experience, it did help somewhat, clearly differentiating the columns under our thumb.

There's another point about those side buttons, which isn't too clear in that image. Let's try this one, instead…

Here you have a better view of the gap between the yellow frame on the left and the buttons on the right. It's there because you can slide the buttons left, as an entire block, if you want. The Scimitar comes with a small pentagonal-tip screwdriver; a hole under the mouse lets you use the tool to loosen the button-block, slide it around, and retighten it, as shown here…

Note that the old-fashioned keyhole you see above in the mouse's underside isn't for any key. It's the hole for the laser sensor.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about the vertical placement of the 12-button grid. The lowest buttons (especially buttons "1" and "4") are close to the surface the mouse sits on, which may annoy some people.

There's nothing much else to see on the Scimitar's underside, except for those four thin glide pads in our image. So let's turn to the right side of the mouse…

That roughened texture doesn't look or feel nearly as coarse in reality, but it still does a reasonable job of providing a greater grip while you're concentrating on your macros. You can also see here the ridge that provides a rest for your fourth finger. It's effective, though again, the size of your hand may make it less or more so.

Table of Contents

Corsair Scimitar RGB Optical MOBA/MMO Gaming Mouse

Our Verdict:
This Scimitar has two sharp points: Corsair's very good software, and some solid ergonomic details. But as in any MMO mouse, its side buttons are tightly packed, perhaps not to everyone's liking.

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